


Uchiha

by Kharon



Series: Red [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, F/M, Future Fic, Next Generation, Uchiha, Uchiha Clan-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-13 00:46:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11173476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharon/pseuds/Kharon
Summary: Akashi was suspicious from the moment Akane informed him that they would disguise him and then hide him inside the Uchiha compound. He likes the little red one well enough, but her stoic face makes her hard to read in the moments where she remembers that she isn't a brat anymore but an elite ninja past twenty.He has to acknowledge however that the color they put in his hair is… effective.





	Uchiha

**Author's Note:**

> Not all of the canon characters are dead yet.

Akashi was suspicious from the moment Akane informed him that they would disguise him and then hide him inside the Uchiha compound. He likes the little red one well enough, but her stoic face makes her hard to read in the moments where she remembers that she isn't a brat anymore but an elite ninja past twenty.

He has to acknowledge however that the color they put in his hair is… effective.

The dirty brown makes his green eyes look less vibrant, and with the Konoha-style dark blue ninja gear and forest green vest he won't garner any unwanted attention should a passer-by get a glance of him.

Still, he feels _wrong_ with dyed hair and a shirt that's stretches taunt over the muscles of his upper body. By now he is so used to displaying his tattoo for the world to see, to _recognize_ , that not doing it seems like a betrayal of sorts.

"Here," Akane tells him suddenly.

It's one of the bigger houses, with a few plants in the front and the sound of voices coming from within. He expected more to be honest, a grand mansion maybe for the ones that are both the last and the first Uchiha now.

Instead the house is quite ordinary, only set apart from the surrounding ones by the fact that they are unoccupied – there are members of the new Konoha Police Force living in the Uchiha district he has learnt, but they moved into the buildings closest to the city proper. This place is at the heart of the compound, far from any prying eyes.

"You are not joining me?" he asks when the girl opens the door and motions for him to step inside. Maybe there is a tad innuendo, a wisp of heat, a faint, teasing quality to his voice, but then it is only because he likes to see her falter for an instant, the way her eyes almost widen, she almost blushes, before the moment is gone and defiant black eyes stare back at him.

"No," she grinds out between clenched teeth. Then she turns tail and runs, Akashi's laughter following her as she vanishes across the rooftops. 

He catches himself wishing that she'll survive. It's a traitorous thought to have with what they are doing, and so he turns around and enters the building.

"No shoes in the house!" a female voice screams as soon as he is about to set foot on the polished wooden floor of the corridor.

For just a moment he is reminded of his mother, arms akimbo and a flush of anger in her cheeks when she caught them trying to sneak inside the house covered in mud. The memory is like a sudden flash of pain; too bright, too familiar even after all those years.

Akashi breathes in once, then out, and proceeds to step out of the ninja boots he was given.

The kitchen is the first door to the left. He can hear the laughter of playing children coming through the open windows to the garden, and the air smells of the broth cooking on the stove.

A woman is cutting vegetables at the big table that dominates the room, her face old and wrinkled but her hair still bright red. Her eyes are not fixed on her work however but on him, their scarlet color unnerving him more than he likes to admit.

He didn't know that the Uchiha matriarch – because this is undoubtedly who she is – is still alive. Uchiha Sasuke died long ago, and he never bothered to think about what happened to his wife, the mother of his children. She has to be almost seventy by now.

"Lady Uchiha," he murmurs and bows, remembering the countless lessons on manners and etiquette he had to endure as a child.

Her chair faintly scratches along the floor when the old woman pushes it back and rises, putting the knife down on the cutting board before she moves to greet him. Her hands are steady, and he can see faint scars above the neckline of her dark violet yukata. _Shinobi_.

Surprisingly strong fingers take a hold of his face, her face suddenly so close to his that he can feel her breath on his skin and the rim of her thick glasses almost touch his nose. Akashi wants to move away on instinct, but she just moves with him when he shuffles an awkward step back.

"You have Sakura's eyes," she whispers, and he freezes.

Nobody mentioned his mother's name to him in… decades. He honestly didn't think there was anyone alive in Konohagakure who still remembers her.

"Her cheeks as well," she continues, seemingly oblivious to his shocked silence, "Also her smile, if I have to guess. Not much else I fear, though only the gods know where you got the height and bulk from, it certainly wasn't your father."

"You… they…" he tries to reply, opening and closing his mouth in a futile attempt at forming a full sentence, "You… knew my mother?"

The woman smiles. "She delivered the twins, and she would have delivered Sakae, Masaki and Isao as well, had she been in the village at the time they were born."

"I didn't know she still had living friends here."

"Your mother and me were never friends, dear boy," she tells him matter-of-factly, "But I still have great respect for what she did and how she chose to live her life. Hers was far from an easy road."

She lets him go then, takes one hands away from his face and puts the other on his shoulder to steer him towards the table and into a chair. He sits down on it heavily, not really sure what to make of the wife of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Who are you?" Akashi has to ask, because maybe his mother talked about her, maybe she will remind him of one of the childhood memories he thinks he has forgotten by now.

"I am Uchiha Karin," she answers, before twirling one of the long strands of her hair between her fingers, "But I was born _Uzumaki_ Karin. People have forgotten us so easily since Naruto died."

He knows what she is talking about, can hear the pain and the longing in her words clearly because they are his own as well, the knowledge that his real name has been forgotten in favor of the one given to him.

" _Sabaku no Akashi_ ," he introduces himself and watches Karin smile.

"Your-" she begins but is interrupted by the sound of children storming the house, pairs of tiny feet clomping along the patio before they come to a halt at the open sliding door to the garden.

"Granny, granny, we wanna see the strange man!" a boy of maybe six yells excitedly while various other children of different ages cram into the doorway behind him.

They all have the dark hair and eyes of the Uchiha. Even at their age they already have thin, wiry bodies and keen eyes. _Children of War_. This is why they are the oldest remaining ninja clan – they are _born_ to be shinobi.

"Mind your manners, Ryoma!" the Uchiha matriarch admonishes, "This is Akashi and he is a friend of your uncle. You will treat our guest properly."

"I'm sorry, grandma," the boy immediately mumbles, avoiding his grandmother's chastising gaze and then turning to Akashi with a formal bow, "I am Uchiha Ryoma. I didn't wanna be rude, but your chakra tastes funny."

He can't stifle a laugh at the way Karin presses her lips together tightly in displeasure. The boy is cute however, with big, curious eyes and an open face – the two oldest girls look at him with obvious affection, and he guesses them to be his sisters.

"And how does my chakra _taste_ funny?" he emphasizes the word, as he has never heard anybody comment on the nature of his chakra in that way, like it's food. The thought is mildly disturbing.

Ryoma actually takes a few seconds to think on that, before shrugging impatiently.

"It just is. It's sharp and clear, like the air just before lightning strikes," he finally answers before putting his little fist over his heart and looking at Akashi's chest, " _There_. It's all pushed together, the whole lightning bolt in one spot."

Akashi blinks. He instinctively puts his own hand over his heart, where the head of the scorpion that gave him his name lies, and has to gather his composure for a moment.

"It's… a gift from my mother," is all he can say without giving himself away.

The boy smiles brightly at him, "That's good. It's really strong chakra, you know? I'd be happy if my mom would give me a present like that. All I got is two sisters and an old cat!"

"Ryoma!" Karin shouts, getting up from her seat and making a move to grab him, but the boy is faster, pushing through the throng of other children and running for the garden before his grandmother can get close enough to catch him.

There is a second of silence, then the other kids dissolve into giggles and run after him, one of Ryoma's sisters giving Akashi a friendly wave in parting.

Sighing, Karin retreats back to her chair with a shake of her head.

Akashi wrinkles his brow.

"How did he know…?" he asks, confused, his hand still covering his heart.

"Uchiha always breed true," she tells him, looking out of the window at the children that have resumed their game in the garden, and then turns back to face him, a faint smile on her lips, "But so do Uzumaki."

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is for showcasing the characters, a little bit of all the background that remains untold. I wanted to tell more of who they are, show some of the dynamics playing behind the scenes. Here you also get the full disclosure on the Uchiha kids: Kichiro, Kizuna, Sakae, Masaki and Isao (in order of birth).
> 
> There is more plot to come in the next installment, because, yes, there is a revolution going on on the sidelines.


End file.
